by David Smith

Created on: July 21, 2010

A pit stop in NASCAR takes as few as thirteen seconds, and a pit stop taking more than fifteen seconds is a pit stop that took way too long.  The men over the wall (those actually servicing the car) number only seven:  The front tire changer, the front tire carrier, the rear tire changer, the rear tire carrier, the jack man, the gas man and the catch can man.  Each of these people have a different job to take care of during the actual pit stop.

At the start of the pit stop, the front and rear tire changers take up their positions on their knees by their respective tires.  They loosen the lug nuts on the tires while the jack man puts the jack under the car and jacks the car up.  Once the car is jacked up, they remove the tire and let the tire carrier place the new tire on the posts.  As the lug nuts are glued into place on the tire being placed, once the tire is in position, the tire changer starts to tighten the lug nuts while the tire carrier takes the old tire and sends it to the wall to be picked up by someone that didn't come over the wall.  The rear tire is actually picked up and held for the rear tire carrier by the jack man.

Once both wheels are on the car and the lug nuts are tightened, the jack man drops the car and runs to the other side of the car.  When he gets there, the tire changers have already gotten the lug nuts off of the car and snatch the tire off of the car when the jack man lifts the car.  The tire carriers then place the tires on the posts and take the other tires over the wall while the tire changers tighten the lug nuts.  Once the tires are in place and the lug nuts are tight, the jack man drops the car and the driver takes off.

While the tire changing process is taking place, the catch can man comes over the wall and places the catch can into the back of the car to catch the excess fuel from the gas man performing his job.  The catch can man also has a second job during the pit stop.  If there needs to be a wedge or chassis adjustment, the catch can man performs those jobs while the car is being serviced.  This job entails a wrench being placed into the back of the car, by the rear window, and so many turns make the adjustment. 

The gas man has one of the most vital jobs during the pit stop.  Each can holds eleven gallons of racing fuel, and the fuel cell in the car holds twenty-two gallons of racing fuel.  Therefore, two cans need to be dispensed into the car to fill the fuel cell.  Once the first can is placed into the car, the catch can man, once he is finished making his adjustments on the car, takes the empty can from the gas man while he acquires the second full can.  It is often seen that the catch can man is pumping the empty can into the air during the final seconds of the pit stop.  This signifies to the jack man that the fuel process is almost finished.

The jack man is the man that actually finishes the pit stop.  When the left side of the car is on the jack, it is up to the jack man to make sure that the gas man is finished, the tools and the catch can are all removed from the car, and that the tire changers are finished before he lowers the car, thus signaling the driver that the stop is finished.  Once the car hits the ground, the driver pops the clutch and takes off for the race track again.  If the jack man is early, the team can be penalized for leaving lug nuts untightened, leaving equipment in the car (wedge or chassis wrenches, the catch can, etc.), or sending equipment out of the pit stall (a stray tire and so forth).

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